In Catholicism there is a splinter group that believes that Pope John Paul II was never a real Pope. Traditional Catholics who call themselves Sedevacantists believe that while the Pope's infallibility and indefectibility are true doctrine, the Vatican's changes have destroyed the faith and that quite possibly a heretical element is in their midst. The question now has to be asked that if the Pope is not anointed and recognized by God then what does that make him?

The world's religions have a lot of things to think about with the dawn of a new Millennium. If their Savior is due to arrive anytime soon then it's time to look in the Bible and realize that before any Second coming, there has to be a first helping of evil that will eventually find itself within the very organization of most Christian churches.

The cults and the vigilant are getting the wake up call. After waiting with baited breath for the return of a messiah the ever faithful are now losing faith, and are changing their minds about God in the new millennium.

A recent report out of the UK sends a definite message about how younger individuals view God and religion. It enforces the idea that technology has put a new face on religion and in the process, has trampled on sacred traditions that many people still adhere to.

A poll that was carried out by a media firm claims that Young people in Britain are more likely to believe in aliens and ghosts than in God. 70 per cent of young Britons have some belief in ghosts and 61 per cent in aliens - but only 39 per cent have any belief in Christianity.

Moreover another survey claims that Atheists and Agnostics tend to be happier in marriage. Many Christians will disagree with this however the numbers speak for themselves. Only 20 percent of atheist marriages fail according to a recent USA today poll, while Christians (Baptists) weighed in slightly higher.

To many people, it will come as no surprise that organized religion will probably show signs of crumbling now that the year 2000 has clicked off. One of the reasons for the weakening of the foundation may be that so many promises remain unfulfilled.

People seem fickle in their beliefs and some would say that there is a crisis in religion today brought on by higher than normal expectations. Some claim that the religious are hypocrites.

Those who are true to the faith say that we must not judge religion by the people and their whims but by its doctrines. So if that is the case then I guess we can all abandon our social gatherings and practice in secret?

If we are to overlook the people, why then should we follow the leaders? They are people, people who sometimes twist doctrine to fit their own agenda.

Whether the apologists like it or not people do matter in religion! The caliber of people that certain religions produce are the fruits of that religion. When people make decisions that make a religion seem more confusing or liberal the pews empty and the coffers are equally vacant.

There are those who believe in old traditions, and in old dogma. When these traditions are bastardized they tend to question the validity of the new doctrines.

They begin to analyze and micromanage the faith until strange conclusions can be drawn. In the case of the Catholic church we are beginning to hear about the possibility that a few of the flock are beginning to wonder if there is a Satanic conspiracy within the body of the church.

In the summer of 1999, there was a spike in movies that by a lot of standards were deemed anti Catholic. Movies like Stigmata, and Dogma, were trying to send a message that quite possibly, there is a rift in the ranks of traditional Catholics. Perhaps it is time to take notice that there is an apostasy from within that could bring down the church and take it a step backward.

As far back as 1996 there were people who openly declared that Pope John Paul II was indeed an antichrist. The first of which was Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo. His allegations of Satanism in the Vatican rocked headlines and resulted in his suspension after it was discovered that he was using unorthodox healing methods and doing exorcisms in Africa.

Milingo was candidly telling the press that there were priests and bishops who were involved with satanic activity. However his position as an archbishop kept him from accusing anyone else who may have had a higher authority such as cardinals and even the Pope himself. Milingo said that he did not rule out the possibility that even in the higher ranks there were members that could very well be agents of Satan.

The idea would be a fulfillment of prophecy that many would consider to be one more sign that we are closer to the return of Jesus Christ.

The New Testament states:

"Let no one deceive you in any way, for the day of the Lord will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and is exalted above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sits in the temple of God and gives himself out as if he were God."-The Bible

The deafening silence had been broken. The idea of a demonic cabal within the Catholic faith had already solidified the opinions of those who felt that the new relations given during Vatican II were an attempt to bring down the original doctrines of the Catholic faith.

A movement sprang from these allegations of a diabolical threat to the papacy. It is known as Sedevacantism. The Sedevacantists are of the belief that the Pope is not leading the church, but destroying the church. The word Sedevacant is a word derived from Latin for vacant throne or seat. That the chair of St. Peter is empty and no one worthy is able to occupy that position.

This among other things has become the church's biggest crisis. Sedevacantists are always called schismatic Catholics since they refuse to follow the Pope's teachings because of their belief that the Pope today is indeed a heretic. This would make the spiritual leader of nearly one fifth of the world's Christian population the antichrist.

Sedevacantists usually say that Pope Pius XII was the last true Pope, because after his papacy the church's Vatican Council II council met. They believe that Vatican II was a blasphemy Therefore, they conclude that the Popes who started and finished the Vatican II Council, John XXIII and Paul VI respectively, were also false Popes. It was soon after the Vatican II council met and the Popes that subsequently reigned after had died that another Pope, Pope John Paul I died mysteriously after only 33 days in office.

It was about that time that a great Masonic conspiracy theory was taking hold in the Vatican. This was giving Sedevacantism more proof to show that the church was dovetailing into the abyss. After Vatican II, a ban was lifted that allowed Catholics to become Freemasons. There was rumored to be over 100 clerics who were Freemasons that belonged to the Italian P2 Lodge, which lent more circumstantial evidence that a diabolical intelligence cabal was infiltrating the church.

Albino Luciani (Pope John Paul I) condemned the P2 Lodge and it was theorized that the Masonic lodge and it's ties to the hierarchy would have been threatened if his Papacy were to continue. . John Paul I ordered an investigation into the scandalous rumors of a conspiracy in the ranks. He then asked his secretary of state, Cardinal Jean Villot to head the investigation.

John Paul I presented Cardinal Villot with a list of people who needed to resign from their posts or be reassigned to other posts. All the people on the list were suspected to be members of the Freemason's group "P2."

The result of correction would show a weakness or perhaps a threat to the Vatican power structure perhaps adding more fuel to the theory that something evil had infiltrated the church.

After all of the scandal John Paul I was found dead in his bed on September 29, 1978. His death had all of the tenants of a true mystery found in a New York Times best seller. In the press inquiry about the untimely death of the Pope, Cardinal Villot issued false statements to the press about the circumstances surrounding the death. There was a rumor that the new Pope had been murdered in order to silence him. Any evidence pointing to murder had been removed by Villot and the Pope's body was immediately embalmed without an autopsy to show the cause of death.

John Paul II replaced John Paul I. None of John Paul I's instructions to Cardinal Villot before his death were carried out.

It was later that there were many mysterious deaths surrounding the scandal. From Journalist to Judges blood was running in the gutters.

These actions seem to draw parallel to other prophecy not written in the Bible. Once again it is theorized that Nostradamus also saw the beginning of the modern apostasy as well.

In Century 3 Quatrain 35 it is written:

"When the sepulcher of the great Roman is found,
The day after a Pope shall be elected:
The Senate (Conclave) will not approve of him.
His blood is poisoned in the sacred chalice."

Furthermore in Century 10 Quatrain 12 it reads:

"The one elected Pope will be mocked by his electors,
This enterprising and prudent person will suddenly be reduced in silence,
They cause him to die because of his too great goodness and mildness,
Stricken by fear, they will lead him to his death in the night."

The other point that adds to all of the hysteria surrounding the council of Vatican II apart from the allegations of the alleged Papal murder is the replacement of the old Latin mass for the Novus Ordo mass. Of course for the uninitiated the words Novus Ordo are buzzwords in the conspiratorial mindset as words that are Latin for "New Order."

The Sedevacantists are basically insinuating that the New World order has taken over the Catholic Church. Adding insult to injury, Pope John Paul II began having interfaith celebrations and holding mass with Buddhists and Hindus, which was a cue to the Sedevacantists that Vatican II was indeed a Masonic front for world domination and an excuse to combine the belief systems of the church's old enemies.

This brings up some very interesting questions. How does a church gracefully admit that perhaps there is a bad seed in the leadership body? Can it actually admit to any wrongdoing without looking silly or in fact fraudulent?

Look at what happened in the instance of The PTL or other evangelical churches when grievous sins defrocked their ministers. Anyone remember what happened to Jim Baker or the hypocritical Jimmy Swaggert?

Could a church as large as the Catholic faith produce within its hierarchy a Pope that is quite clearly a liar and a heretic? If this is the case, does that ipso-facto make that Pastor, Bishop, or Pope the equivalent of an antichrist?

Where else do we see a religious, and powerful political leader wrapped in one package that can be labeled an antichrist that willfully takes the reins of power in the midst of an unsolved murder, and a virtual takeover by an alleged intelligence cabal?

This becomes a chilling thought. Especially when other strange prophecies and events have hinted at the possibility that the seat in Rome would some day be occupied by a demon in the flesh or much worse in spirit.

In 1846 it was recorded that the Virgin Mary appeared to two French children and told them that Rome would eventually become the seat of the anti-christ and that before the coming of the lord, the church would be in an eclipsed state.

Today it can be argued that the eclipsed state of the church exists with revelations of wrong doing by priests and the unfortunate attempt to kill Pope John Paul II in 1981.
There are also the Prophecies and secrets of Fatima where an appearance of the Virgin in Portugal foretold many things at the beginning of the 20th century including World Wars and bloodshed. For many years the Third secret was kept hidden from the people and many assumed that the secret was so hideous that none could bear the consequence. While many believe that the third secret of Fatima reveals a world war where nuclear weapons will be used others say that the secret is that there will be a doctrinal crisis of the Christian Church before Jesus returns to the earth.

It was synchronicity that Pope John Paul II 's attempted assassination took place during the anniversary of Fatima. Pope John Paul said that the miracle of the Virgin saved him from death.

Many Catholics have become confused or disenchanted with the church and attempts to express their feelings have been met with ridicule from members who have regained a firm grip on their faith. However many people still say that a crisis looms over the church. This is congruent with what has been said about the third secret of Fatima, Where clerics believe that the crisis in the church was quite possibly foretold in the late 19th and early 20th century. Many clerics have speculated openly about a diabolical disorientation within the church itself.

Since the second meeting of the Vatican council there has been a gradual decline in church attendance. The Church is also seeing its influence and authority wane.

So using a leap of logic we can theorize that if the Sedevacantists are correct the Papacy is in fact vacant and the Devil has begun is reign over the earth.

On the surface it may sound cruel to say that perhaps Satanic influences have crept under the radar and are now in power positions in the Catholic church and perhaps many will think that it is in fact anti-catholic to even bring it up.

But one has to understand that if Satan is going after the powerful church then this church is a threat to the agenda of the devil. This would in fact give the church more credibility.

The Irony of it all is that its the best trap the Devil has ever set.

The reason why is simple.

If anyone were to take all of the evidence of a satanic conspiracy, and then ask the holy fathers if an antichrist or anti-pope was running the church, the church leaders would have no other alternative but look them right square in the eye…